The quadrennial global sporting spectacle that is the Summer Olympics is well under way in Rio de Janeiro. More than 200 of Taiwan’s top athletes are taking part at the Games, which has the slogan “Um Mundo Novo,” or “a new world,” showing their character to the world while striving to win glory for themselves and the nation.
One of the unique qualities of Rio 2016 is the provision of separate groups for refugee and independent athletes. In doing so, Rio’s organizers have succeeded in realizing the original spirit of the Olympics: That everyone should be able to take part in sports events, free from discrimination.
As usual, Taiwan must compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” — abbreviated to TPE — wave the plum blossom and five-ring flag, and sing the national flag song. This — which is referred to as the “Olympic model” — is a very different practice from the majority of other competing nations. Taiwanese athletes are forbidden from using the name of their nation — the Republic of China (ROC), or even Taiwan — and cannot wave their national flag or sing their national anthem.
Global news broadcaster CNN has had enough and a US friend of Taiwan in Rio wore a T-shirt featuring the ROC flag design and waved the ROC flag in protest at the injustice.
In a special report, CNN said that although Taiwan competes under the name “Chinese Taipei” — with a special flag and song — there is no nation called “Chinese Taipei.” It is the result of a messy political compromise, with which Taiwanese feel increasingly dissatisfied.
Following the election of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the name “Chinese Taipei” has become even more contentious than before and many Taiwanese are unwilling to accept the situation any longer.
Chris Cordova, a US national, attended the Games wearing a T-shirt modeled after the ROC flag and waved an ROC flag, cheering on Taiwanese athletes from the spectators’ stands. Although he has been obstructed by Chinese spectators and Olympic officials, undeterred, Cordova said that he understands the difficult situation of Taiwan’s weak international status and is therefore determined to support Taiwanese athletes to the very end.
In contrast with CNN and Cordova, certain Taiwanese media outlets and politicians have fallen back on citing the “Olympic model,” and they are not prepared to voice criticism over the restrictions imposed on the nation and its athletes.
The same people have internalized the phrase “Chinese Taipei” to the extent that they are able to refer to Taiwanese athletes as “the Chinese team” without batting an eyelid. They have also taken it upon themselves to falsely refer to the Chinese team as “mainland athletes.”
It is obvious that both sides of the Taiwan Strait have been equally infected by the Zhonghua culture (中華文化) virus and have let political concerns override sports concerns, modifying the Olympic names of other national teams along the way.
Those within the media and politics who cheer on “the Chinese team” no doubt continue to believe in the ROC. When they refer to China as “the mainland,” that is because they believe in the formula “one China, each side with its own interpretation” — they consider both sides to be on an equal footing. Therefore, when they refer to Taiwanese athletes as “the Chinese team,” in their eyes, it does not disadvantage Taiwan in any way.
However, former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) eight years in office have revealed the “one China” formula to be a lie that Ma used to deceive both himself and the public. Ma could not even bring himself to use his nation’s title — the ROC — during his much-hyped meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last year.
The media organizations and politicians that refer to Taiwan’s Olympic team using a bankrupt political formula — renounced by the public at the ballot box — are not just tragically stubborn, but they also hold public opinion in contempt.
The main cause of Taiwan’s unfair treatment at the Olympics is of course due to it being elbowed to one side by Beijing; but a contributing factor is that the past Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, still harboring thoughts of “Greater China,” bungled its handling of the problem. Just as it happened during the struggle to keep Taiwan’s seat at the UN General Assembly, the International Olympic Committee was willing to allow the ROC to compete under the name of “Taiwan” or “Formosa.”
However, both Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), who were in power during the 1970s, were obsessed with the idea that “gentlemen cannot stand with thieves,” meaning that the KMT could not coexist with the Chinese Communist Party.
This meant that in later negotiations, the KMT was forced to accept the “Olympic model,” which resulted in the “communist thieves” taking the throne, while the KMT’s “gentlemen” were left out in the cold. It was a humiliating disaster for the ROC.
In practice, at international sporting events, Taiwanese athletes never refer to themselves as ROC nationals. Yet within Taiwan, elements of the media and some politicians, instead of following public opinion and moving with the times, are stuck in the past, continuing to delude themselves by calling Taiwanese athletes “Chinese.”
The irony is that when Taiwan’s status is belittled at the Olympics — or at other global events — international media have repeatedly taken a stand on a matter of principle. CNN is the latest example. The majority of media usually use the term “Team Taiwan,” which is simple and direct, and cuts through the politicization of the Olympics.
Similarly, Cordova, who is from Los Angeles, through his support for the ROC on Taiwan, is a friend within the international community heroically fighting for what he believes is right.
Chen Wei-yin (陳偉殷) is a Taiwanese baseball pitcher playing in the US Major Leagues.
Chen’s former head coach and manager at Baltimore Orioles, Buck Showalter, last year said it best: “I’ve done my homework. Don’t use ‘Chinese Taipei’ anymore... China is China and Taiwan is Taiwan. They are different countries.”
The unjust treatment of Taiwan’s Olympic team is the malign result of Chinese suppression through political coercion. In the past few years, the contrast between democratic Taiwan and authoritarian China has become increasingly apparent. International media are following this with interest, while taking a principled stance and speaking up for Taiwan.
Public opinion in Taiwan will also find it increasingly difficult to accept this abnormal naming convention in the long term.
In addition to fostering talent and displaying the nation’s sporting prowess on the international stage, Taiwan must also go by its proper name. Using the wrong name will of course appear strange to the outside world — which is why CNN has said that there is no such nation as “Chinese Taipei.”
The 80 percent of Taiwanese who recognize “Taiwan” to be their nation’s proper name — wherever they are in the world — should, starting with the Rio Olympics, together cheer on Team Taiwan.
Translated by Edward Jones
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